Excel® 2007 Bible

Chapter 2. What’s New in Excel 2007?

<feature><title>In This Chapter</title>

• The new features in Excel 2007

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If you’ve used a previous version of Excel, this chapter is for you. Here you’ll find a quick overview of what’s new and what’s changed in Excel 2007.

A New User Interface

The first thing you notice about Excel 2007 is its new look. The time-honored menu-and-toolbar user interface has been scrapped and replaced with a new “tab-and-ribbon” interface. Although the new interface kind of resembles menus and toolbars, you’ll find that it’s radically different.

Long-time Excel users have probably noticed that, with each new version, the menu system has gotten increasingly complicated. In addition, the number of toolbars had become almost overwhelming. After all, every new feature must have a way to be accessed. In the past, access meant adding more items to the menus and building new toolbars. The Microsoft designers set out to solve the problem, and the new Ribbon interface is their solution.

Time will tell how users will accept the new Ribbon interface. As I write this book, the reaction can best be described as “mixed.” As with anything new, some people love it, others hate it.

Cross-Ref

Chapter 1 contains more information about the new Ribbon interface, including a description of its components.

I think many experienced Excel users will suffer from a mild case of bewilderment as they realize that all their familiar command sequences no longer work. ...